comedy

Harold Ramis, the Chicago actor best known for his roles in “Ghostbusters” and “Stripes,” died of a rare autoimmune disease early Monday morning. Ramis was the head writer and performed for Second City’s television series. He got his big break after writing “National Lampoons: Animal House” and proceeded to write and direct “Groundhog Day,” “Caddyshack” and “Analyze This.” Continue reading →

Before there was Saturday Night Live, there was “Your Show of Shows,” and Sid Caesar was its featured star. With writers such as Mel Brooks, Woody Allen, and Carl Reiner, Caesar had the best material to entertain American television audiences every Saturday evening. Continue reading →

Credit: Paramount Pictures If you’re in Bismarck or Dickinson, North Dakota, you may have tuned into local CBS affiliate, KXNews, last night for the local goings-on in the central and western regions of the state.

Will Ferrell as Ron Burgundy, second from left, co-anchored the news with KXNews’ Amber Schatz, second from right. Meteorologist Jared Piepenburg, right, and sports anchor Jon Schaeffer, left, rounded out the newscast. Photo from KXNews video Viewers in western North … Continue reading →

The new web series "Alpha House" puts a comedic spin on politics in the era of tea party conservatism with a story about four Republican lawmakers who work and live together on Capitol Hill. Jeffrey Brown talks to "Doonesbury" cartoonist Garry Trudeau, the creator behind Amazon’s first original streaming series. Continue reading →

Pioneering comic Jonathan Winters brought his own brand of wild, improvisational stand-up to television in the 1950s, and continued to perform for nearly five decades. Winters died Thursday at the age of 87. Jeffrey Brown remembers the comedian with a look back at his career and an interview excerpt with Jim Lehrer from 1999. Continue reading →

The short third installment of Yoram Bauman’s vlog from China is well worth the watching, highlighting the tension between the “official” China and what’s really going on there. Communist Party founder Mao AND $300,000 Porsches? Yoram asks. “Do hen hao!” … Continue reading →

Paul Solman answers questions from NewsHour viewers and web users on business and economic news most days on his Making Sen$e page. Here are a few queries: We received a flurry of worried responses to our Lincoln Electric story from … Continue reading →

Stand-up economist Yoram Bauman has now made it to China and filed the second of his vlogs for us from Beijing. We found his comparison of China to Ecuador fascinating. For those who crave a heavier dose of Yoram’s wit, … Continue reading →